3 Baltimore Orioles players who need to be better in June

The month of May was another successful one for the Orioles, entering play in June still in second place in the AL East with a 35-21 record, still holding one of the better records in baseball. As was the case last month, not everything is going swimmingly in Birdland. Here are three players who need to be better in the month of June (stats prior to beginning of play June 1).

Three Baltimore Orioles players who need to perform better in June

Cionel Pérez, RP

Just as I said last month, Pérez is one of the weak links in an Orioles bullpen that has otherwise been mostly solid to start the year. After a dominant year in 2022, Pérez has now allowed more runs this year through two months than he did all of last year.

His ERA on the season currently stands at 4.87, with his FIP even higher at 4.96 over 20 1/3 innings in 24 appearances. With a ghastly looking WHIP of 2.066, Pérez needs to pitch better this month if he wants to keep his bullpen spot.

Austin Voth, RP

Serving as a long reliever in the bullpen, Voth hasn't done a ton to inspire a lot of confidence when he takes the mound. His 4.71 ERA is just below Pérez, with his 4.96 FIP equal. His strikeouts per nine of 8.8 and walks per nine of 3.1 over 28 2/3 innings aren't optimal either, and with Keegan Akin along with some other Triple A options able to serve long relief roles, Voth could also have his spot in jeopardy sooner rather than later.

Gunnar Henderson, 3B/SS

For someone who has played in 50 of the 56 games, Henderson has been a bit underwhelming to start his first full season in the bigs. One thing Henderson has done extremely well is drawing walks, with 29 on the season to put him in the 96th percentile in walk percentage.

However, he's not making enough contact, with a .201 batting average and .370 slugging percentage entering June, hitting two home runs to go with seven doubles. His .332 on base percentage is being buoyed by all the walks he's taking. With just a .702 OPS and 97 OPS+ to go with a 10th percentile ranking in outs above average, Henderson will need to take a step forward to continue earning playing time.

If the Baltimore Orioles want to keep having the success they had in April and May, it's critical that these three players step up and play better as the calendar flips to June. Let's hope they can.